CASE STUDY SAVING VENICE? THE MOSE SYSTEM 9 Read the passage and answer the questions below. The city of Venice, made up of 118 islands in the middle of a lagoon, is getting more and more vulnerable to flooding, because of global warming. That s where MOSE an acronym for MOdulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico comes in. The flood-barrier system consists of rows of 78 mobile gates at the three inlets to the Venetian Lagoon and aims to isolate the lagoon from seawater during acqua alta to protect Venice. But the system of retractable gates, conceived in 1981, is not without its controversies. Instead of costing 1.6 billion, it has already cost 5.5 billion; instead of going into service in 2011, it began working in 2022. IF WATER RISES TOO MUCH, THE FLOODGATES ARE RAISED Protected lagoon The tide grows The entire project has been marked by very serious episodes of corruption. Then, to complete the work and repair the structures which are already ruined, an additional sum of 700 million, plus at least 105 million per year to guarantee function and maintenance will be required. Furthermore, the system which will protect the Lagoon from extremely high tides (from 110 centimetres to three metres) will do nothing to limit the damage of medium-high tides (between 80 and 100 centimetres), which are far more common. MOSE S underwater structure has been eroded by mould and by the action of mussels. The gates that are already in the water cannot be raised due to technical problems. Those still to be mounted, waiting on land, are rusting due to the salt air, despite their special paint. In short, giant projects do not always pay off. And what is worse is that according to an analysis commissioned by the Administration of Public Works of Venice, MOSE risks structural failures due to electrochemical corrosion caused by the marine environment and due to the use of a different steel than that which was originally used during the tests. The 156 hinges that connect the gates to the concrete housing are at extremely high risk (a probability of 66 to 99%) of being unusable. 1. What is the main problem for Venice? 2. What has made the problem worse? 3. When did the MOSE project start? 4. What does the MOSE consist of? 5. Were estimates about the cost and completion of the project respected? 6. What other issues are connected to the structure? 7. What causes erosion? 8. In what way is the structure at risk ? flooding: inondazione hinge: cerniera mould: muffa mussel: mitile to pay off: ripagare THE WORKPLACE 239